Spring Has Sprung!

and so has this new Vertical Budding Vine Necklace! I elaborated on my usual by adding some new features this time; hand-forged sterling silver leaves soldered onto wires which are then wrapped lovingly around the main fine silver stalk which is made from a real vine, and get this! This one has a little copper flower on it with a sterling silver stamen! This new piece is bursting with color and texture and it brings 3D to a whole new level. You feel like you're in the woods right now with your face a few inches away from a vine with all its lush foliage as it just begins to bloom! This is a necklace you can look at for hours with all it's details! But don't just look at it. It's fun to wear too! Be the envy of all your friends and even people you haven't met might just ask you where you got it!

And what is Spring without the "birds and the bees", well in this case it was two Luna Moths mating!

These guys were right outside my back door yesterday when I went out to take some pictures for my Etsy shops. Now how often do you get to see that! Since Luna Moths are generally very introverted creatures and don't show themselves often I would guess it's not very frequently!

I'm usually lucky if I see one each Spring but this year I've been lucky enough to see several; these two, an immature one a few days before that, and another full grown one about a month ago.

It must be a good omen of easier times ahead. Luna Moths are probably one of the gentlest animals I can think of. There is something about their spirit that reminds me of a dove and I've never really thought of them as insects. They seem more substantial, deeper, and higher-thinking. I've had them climb right onto my hand and look at me on several occasions. They don't seem to be at all afraid, just curious.

I've got lots of cool jewelry in the works and will be doing more things with leaves and flowers.

Be sure to keep checking my shop, come in and take something home with you.
http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

If you're looking for unique supplies I have been listing Cactus Quartz like mad! In fact I am using one right now for a piece of my own jewelry that you will be seeing in my jewelry shop in the near future.

See those and many more items here.
http://GiftbearerSupply.etsy.com
Secondary items are often only .75 additional shipping to destinations within the US, so go ahead and load up your cart! Several buyers have purchased 5 or 6 items at a time, and my stock of Cactus Quartz is starting to go but there are still some very nice stones left if you act soon!

Spring (and Regeneration) is In The Air

 Yesterday the sun was shining and it was one of those days in which the leaves seemed to glow like good chalcedony. I walked over near a peach tree I'd had for 6 years or so which never had gotten a successful crop before (what peaches it had the first year promptly fell off and never reappeared) and lo and behold this year there are peaches growing! They were very well camouflaged because if I hadn't been looking at a certain angle and the sun hadn't been shining in just the right direction I might have walked right by and missed them altogether!

As you can see here, some are already as big as a golf ball and are showing just a hint of color! Peaches are just about my favorite fruit of all, so I plan on guarding these with my life. Once they get bigger and are closer to being ripe I'll wrap each one in mesh to keep out the bugs and birds. I'd say there are probably 20 or 30 on this tree. I planned ahead to save on my grocery bill, and it seems this has finally paid off.

The two Granny Smith Apple trees in the back yard have only gotten one or two apples in the past year or so, but if the peach tree is bearing fruit that could be a good sign for the apples this year.

Carmella has been having a good time and has been a really good sport while waiting for her leg brace to be made.

She really enjoyed the warm weather and walked and nosed around the yard looking for squirrels and birds. We've got a few nests on the porch's eves that look like they might contain some expectant mothers ready to lay their eggs soon, busily flying back and forth carrying twigs and soft material in their beaks. Carmella finds this fascinating, looking upward and barking as they go about their business.

Then when she tires of that she eventually lies down in the grass to soak in the sunshine.

I stayed out there for hours to catch her in her cutest poses. Getting her to stay still long enough is not easy, but after she'd burned off some of that excess energy I was able to get some really regal shots. She has some really beautiful expressions, but you have to get very lucky to catch her in those before she moves or changes how she holds her face.

A friend of mine says she looks like Gene Simmons when she pants.

Finally she was hot and tired and went onto the back porch to lie down in the shade.

Next for Carmella; I need to continue looking into contacts and pertinent research for Carmella's stem cell transplant to regenerate the ligament tissue and neural cells.

I've been preparing for the show coming up in just two weeks, getting all my ducks in a row. My jewelry shop sales number continues to hover at 89 sales. Need to break that soon. It's been stuck there since January 21st.

Please help Carmella and consider making your purchases at http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/  for your Mother's Day gift or any other occasion for which you might want jewelry and in the process get yourself or a loved-one some unique and beautiful jewelry.  If you've looked, hearted, (or didn't) and said to yourself "someday" this would be a good time to take the plunge.

Also, please keep the donations, blog ad purchases, and supply sales coming. Each of these will bring me closer to my goal. Thanks to everyone who has helped so far. Blog, tweet, and spread the word to all dog-loving buddies!

For jewelry:

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

For supplies:

http://GiftbearerSupply.etsy.com